At various attractions on the idyllic-seeming Indonesian island, orangutans, tigers and elephants are secretly kept in filthy, cramped enclosures with bare concrete floors. The cases are among a string of examples of cruelty fuelled unwittingly by tourists.

The overexploitation of these incredible animals for human consumption has had a catastrophic effect on their numbers in the wild over an amazingly short time span: Samuel Turvey, a researcher at the Zoological Society of London.

The lion, which once roamed across southwest Asia but is now restricted to the 1,400 square kilometre (545 square mile) Gir sanctuary in Gujarat state, was listed as critically endangered in 2000, with its population under threat due to hunting and human encroachment on its habitat. A recent unofficial count found more than 600 lions in the area, up from 523 in a 2015 census, Gujarat's chief minister Vijay Rupani said. "Our efforts for lion conservation with support of local people have yielded good results. The number of lions now in Gujarat has reached the 600 mark," Rupani said.

The $440,000 project will let the aquarium permanently house jellyfish for the first time in its history. Plans call for about 100 jellyfish representing four species. They will swim in tanks in a darkened exhibit space with dramatic lighting.

Australian government launched a US $34 million plan to help save the vulnerable koala population. The Australian Koala Foundation estimates there may be as few as 43,000 koalas left in the wild. The number came down from down from 10 million prior to European settlement of the continent in 1788.

More than 10,000 crore critically endangered radiated tortoise have been recovered from traffickers, who had crammed them in a shelter without food or water. Reportedly, hundreds of them died from illness and dehydration.

Singapore on Wednesday mourned the death of the first polar bear born and bred in the tropical island city, put down by wildlife authorities after a five-year battle with health difficulties stemming from old age.

"The tigers are well settled now and they have gained weight and increased in size. The approximate weight of the male tiger now is around 300 kg while the female weighs more than 200 kg," park curator Raya Flago said.